Projects

OPERATIONAL WORK

The work in the Reserve is ongoing in order to maintain the infrastructure and pristine nature of the area. The Exco team of the Homeowners’ Association are lead by a capable chairman and there is a full time Site Supervisor who has a Site Committee of volunteer Home Owners supporting him. The Site Supervisor has two full-time labourers assisting him (a man and a woman) to carry out the daily operational work within the Reserve.

Fencing

Repairs to fencing in the Reserve are undertaken from time to time. There are still many sections of the perimeter fence that will need replacement. Some essential repair work on both the eastern and western boundaries has been done in recent years. The perimeter fence of the 291 hectare property covers quite a long distance (about 7 km). Therefore the work will be done over an extended period of time in line with budgeted funds for this activity.

Water

L’Agulhas Nature Reserve obtains its water from two boreholes on the property. During 2010 the LNR borehole collapsed. Two new boreholes each over 100 m deep with long lasting PVC sleeves were then drilled by a professional organisation at considerable expense. From time to time maintenance repairs are undertaken, including upgrades to the control systems and a new pump has been acquired.

The upper reservoir feeds into a lower reservoir by gravity, from where water is distributed throughout the Reserve. A level control switch at the upper reservoir (which automatically switches the borehole pump on when the reservoir drops to a certain level, and also switches it off once it is filled up again) has been replaced routinely and further upgrades are envisaged to continue to ensure a reliable water supply.

Electricity

There have been a number of issues over time in L’Agulhas Nature Reserve, but generally the distribution system within LNR has been quite reliable with outages arising mainly from CAM maintenance programmes and Eskom rotational loadshedding. Exco is happy to report that all our distribution cables in the Reserve are now fully insured against damage or theft and fully serviceable. Power to the main gate has been attended to and all electrical wiring inside the store/barn is now fully functional.

Residents are to note that meter readings of electricity usage on occupied plots are taken on about the 12th of each month and forwarded to Martinique, our management provider for inclusion on accounts.

Road repairs

A major flood in 2009 severely damaged many roads in the Reserve and large costs were incurred to bring these roads back to a serviceable level.

Storm water gutters and stonewalls as well as paved gullies for run-off water were installed to minimise the problems associated with flooding. This is, however, an ongoing task, and several more stretches of road still need upgrading.

Whilst initial road repairs were done by contractors, the Reserve has acquired its own bitumen sprayer and compactor and has started to do its own road repairs using its permanent staff. This has proved to be much more cost-effective than employing contractors.

It will also become necessary to control traffic in a one-way circular fashion once more houses are built inside the Reserve.